Why Statoil leaves the TAP?

Statoil is to sell its 20-percent stake in the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) project that will carry gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, the president of Azeri state energy firm SOCAR said. According to the SOCAR, Statoil has decided to leave the TAP project completely, and there is a company which is ready to buy its stake.

CESD underlines that selling of Statoil’s 20 percent stake is not a good news for the Southern Gas Corridor developments: “ On light of warming relations between Iran and the West, current and potential investors of the Southern Gas Corridor try to diverse their investment portfolio. Meanwhile, continuation of the decline of the energy products in the world market and deterioration of interest to new pipeline projects are main reason of changes of stakeholders of the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline. Investors have concern on reducing of the price of stakes of TAP. Therefore, Statoil more likely try to sell the stakes as higher price as possible before forecasting of potential value reduction”.

Reminded here that Statoil has already sold its shares in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field as well as the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) to SOCAR, BP and Malaysia’s Petronas.

The TAP pipeline is a part of project that is designed to transport 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea, one of the world’s largest gas fields, by the end of the decade. The 870 kilometre (545 mile) pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before reaching southern Italy.